


no use pretending

by Satine86



Series: that modern AU [9]
Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Married Couple, Married Life, RomCom Crap, Sequel, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-02 19:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14551671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satine86/pseuds/Satine86
Summary: Married six months, Anne and Phillip should still be in the honeymoon phase. But between Phillip's long hours and the arrival of Anne's ex, it seems the honeymoon might be over for good.sequel to 'time to pretend.'





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WHAT'S THIS!? THE SEQUEL NO ONE ASKED FOR!? :O
> 
> Also I'm just gonna go ahead and apologize to everyone in general, right now. *finger guns*

Anne checked the time as she strolled into the theater. Phillip had been there since the early hours, helping with the new set and probably a hundred other things. Even if they weren’t finished, she swore she would drag her husband out by the scruff of his neck if she had to. He needed to eat and rest… and spend time with her, but that was beside the point. Sort of.

Since Phillip and P.T. had decided to remodel and renovate the theater, Anne had hardly seen him between contractor meetings and overseeing all the changes and updating needed. 

Things were less than ideal in her opinion, because with the remodel it meant she personally had a lot of downtime. It had been nice for the first few days, and she enjoyed some peace and quiet and time to herself. Though as Phillip’s hours had gotten progressively longer, she found it less and less appealing. Especially since W.D. had been helping with some of the work as well, and she hadn’t even had him to annoy. Though she and Charity Barnum had been getting coffee together more and more frequently. 

“Anne?” 

Whirling around at the sound of her name, she blinked it surprise. Standing before her was Anthony Wilcox, her ex-boyfriend. 

“Tony?” she asked, barely managing to speak past her shock. “What are you doing here?” 

She hadn’t seen him since before she had moved to New York; the relocation was a bit of a catalyst in their relationship. She and W.D. had been intent on going, while Tony had adamantly been against it. Things had fallen apart from there. It was strange, Anne thought, it seemed like a lifetime ago instead of five years. 

He looked good, she could admit; he’d always been handsome, even when they were kids at dance classes together. He and W.D. were close in height and complexion, though Tony was more leanly built with a strong, square jaw and easy smile. Tony surged forward and hugged her tightly. Anne could only pat his back awkwardly. 

“Long story,” he said when he pulled back, gestured around the theater. “Do you work here?”

“Yes. W.D. and I both do.” 

“Well, I’ll be damned.” He gave a lost whistle. “You look good, Wheeler.” 

“Thank you.” She could still barely process that he was standing in front of her after so long out of touch. “What are you doing here?” she repeated.

“Mr. Barnum?” He nodded vaguely in the direction of P.T’s office. “Is a very hard man to get a hold of.” 

“Yes, he is.” Anne frowned, he and Phillip were practically ghosts as far she and Charity were concerned. 

“I’ve recently started teaching at the Weiss Academy. His daughter Caroline is in one of my beginner classes.” 

“You’re teaching? Here?” 

“Yeah, it was a good job offer. Kind of hard to pass it up.” He looked a little embarrassed, and Anne knew he was thinking about before she left. When they had fought practically non-stop about the fact he would never leave New Orleans, that he wanted to take over their old dance studio. 

“Anyway,” he said. “I was supposed to have an introductory meeting with his wife, but she had a conflicting appointment or something. I offered to come down here to talk to him, it gave me a chance to explore a bit.”

“How long have you been in the city?” Anne was happy she could manage inane conversation through her wildly spiraling thoughts. 

“About three weeks? Started up the job right away. I just found a place to rent.” He grinned at her, held out his hands. “What about you? What’s been going on? How did you and W.D. end up working here?” 

“Um, well--” Anne trailed off when her cell phone buzzed in her hand, saw it was a message from Phillip. She giggled, unable to stop herself when saw an utterly ridiculous amount of flirty emojis on her screen. She shook herself, looked back up at Tony. “Sorry, that was rude. What were you saying?” 

Tony gave her a slightly confused look, opened his mouth to say something, but their conversation was interrupted again when the instigator of the flirty emojis appeared around the rigging Anne stood next to. Phillip snaked his arms about her waist, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. 

“God, I’ve missed you. This day has been never ending.” He brushed another kiss against her jaw, and Anne lifted her hand to place it on his cheek before he got too carried away.

“Phillip?” she said, turning her face toward him. 

“Hm?” He looked up at her. Anne rolled her eyes at Tony, partially blocked by the rigging and some old stage props, Phillip’s gaze followed hers and his eyes went wide. 

“Oh! Mr. Wilcox, wasn’t it?” he asked, ears going a little pink as he pulled back from Anne. “I honestly did not see you there.”

Anne tried to suppress her laughter, watching as Phillip turned a little pinker, until she caught sight of Tony’s confused and slightly concerned face. Of course he wouldn’t know. 

“Tony? I guess you’ve already met the co-owner of the theater, but, um, if I can reintroduce you? This is Phillip Carlyle, my husband.” Even despite the awkward introduction, Anne felt happiness curl in her stomach. She still loved saying that. 

“Hus-husband?” Tony sputtered and looked back and forth between them. “Congratulations. I had no idea you’d gotten married.” 

“It’s still fairly new. Just about six months.” Anne beamed at Phillip, though it was now his turn to look confused.

“How is it you two know each other?”

That was going to me an even more awkward introduction. “This is Tony Wilcox, from back home,” she stressed. Phillip’s eyes were trained on her, and she knew the moment he realized exactly what that meant. 

“Oh, I see.” 

Anne could practically see him trying to work things out in his head. “Tony just moved here for his new job teaching at Caroline’s dance school,” she supplied. “What a small world, right?” 

“Yeah, crazy,” Phillip said. Things were starting to spin into the realm of uncomfortable, and Anne quickly tried to find a way to defuse the situation when the contractor called for Phillip.

“Mr. Carlyle, ya got a minute?” 

Phillip acknowledged the man before hanging his head in defeat. “It will never end,” he muttered before addressing Anne. “I’m sorry, just give me a couple minutes and then we can head to dinner.” 

“Okay.” Anne nodded, for a brief second she thought Phillip was going to kiss her, but instead he settled on squeezing her hand. She watched him until he disappeared around the curtains blocking the stage. Truthfully she was getting tired of always missing him. 

“Married huh?” Tony asked when looked back at him. “How’d that come about?”

Anne laughed a little bit. “Kinda a long story, but P.T. -- Mr. Barnum -- hired me and W.D. a while back. Phillip and I just always had… a thing. Honestly I think I was a little in love with him the minute we met. He claims he definitely was.”

“You're happy?”

“I am.” Anne couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. Either because of her good mood and her own contentment, or the fact that Tony just seemed a little lost, she held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Give me your phone,” she said.

He frowned slightly but obeyed. Anne brought up his contacts list and entered in her information.

“Text me. You, me, and W.D. can go for dinner. Maybe show you around a bit?” She handed his phone back. “I know New York can be a bit overwhelming at first. Hell, I still find it overwhelming sometimes.” She could remember first moving to New York, how much it was to take in at once. She hadn’t been alone though, she’d had a few acquaintances and W.D. Something told her Tony didn’t have anyone to fall back on. 

“That would be nice,” he said. “Be good to see W.D. again too. In the meantime I should get going. Find my way home.” He laughed, a little nervous. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

“I’m looking forward to it!” Anne waved, remained where she was until he was gone before she headed to Phillip’s office to wait for him. She didn’t need to wait long though. 

“I’m so sorry,” he said as he walked through the door. “Trying to get this much done in the time we allotted is like treading water. If I murdered P.T. you would bail me out of jail, right?” 

“Yes, but let’s try to avoid any felonies. Besides, he has a family.” 

Phillip leaned over her where she sat in his office chair, and kissed her. “But I have a wife I miss. And sleep. I miss sleep too.” He straightened up, turned to grab his coat off the hook beside the door. 

“Babe?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t be upset, but I kinda offered to take Tony out to dinner sometime. It’s just he’s new in town, and I thought me and W.D. could help him out a bit. He is an old friend, aside from the whole… we used to date thing.” 

He didn’t say anything for a moment, and for once his face was completely unreadable. Finally he nodded, gave her a small smile. “I think that’s really nice of you, I’m sure he appreciates it.” 

Anne got up and joined him by the door. “So you’re not weirded out.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Will you join us?” 

“I’ll politely decline, just to keep the awkwardness to a minimum.” He shrugged into his jacket, switched off the light. “And you’ll have things to talk about, old times, all that. I would just be in the way.”

Anne couldn’t help but feel like Phillip wasn’t saying something, biting back a comment or concern. Or maybe it was just the fact he was tired and she was imagining things? She couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under his eyes, his usually tidy appearance a little disheveled. 

“Now,” he said and slid his arm around her waist. “Let’s go find some food, because I missed lunch and I’m starving.” 

All of her previous worries flew out the window and she stared openly at her idiot husband. “You have to eat, Phillip.”

He gave her a slow grin. “You sound like your mom.” 

“For good reason, since you’re a grown man who can’t even remember to feed himself.” She started dragging him toward the sidedoor. 

“I remembered, I was just too busy to actually do it.” 

“That’s hardly any better.” She frowned, wondering if she should start packing him snacks like a kindergartner. Honestly, why did she love him so much?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes real quick because I'm an annoying author.
> 
> So this is set a couple years after Time to Pretend. I figure TTP took place in the spring and this takes place about March (Anne and Phillip were married late summer like September?), so a few months shy of 2 years. I've never stated anyone's age, but I like to imagine Anne is about 25 or 26 here, and Phillip's a few years older (same as W.D.)
> 
> And none of this matters at all, I'm just sharing because I was thinking about it.


	2. Chapter 2

Phillip groaned and rolled his shoulder, that day they had been dismantling and hauling out old sets and he thought he might actually fall asleep where he stood. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a full night’s sleep, or a day off. Or basically any type of break aside from a trip to the bathroom. Phillip leaned back against the brick wall backstage and sighed deeply, he would be so happy once they finally finished the remodel. Then he planned on staying in bed for a week. With Anne. God, he missed Anne.

A shadow fell over him then, and Phillip looked up to see W.D. leaning next to him. He held out a takeout container from the restaurant down the street, offering Phillip some of his french fries. He took a few and popped them into his mouth.

“I don’t think I’ve actually eaten today,” Phillip said, mouth full. It was becoming a habit, and while he knew it wasn’t good, his schedule remained too hectic for him to attempt to fix it.

“Don’t tell Anne.”

“I won’t if you won't.” He chewed thoughtfully, wondering if he had time to get a burger before P.T’s next big idea forced him back to the stage for more work.

“Hey, if she’s not around to notice no harm, no foul.”

“Oh yeah, wasn’t she going to come down today?” He glanced at his watch, realized exactly how late in the afternoon it was.

“You don’t know?” W.D. arched an eyebrow.

“What?”

“She and Tony are hangin’ out.”

“Oh.” Phillip wasn’t sure how to feel about that, wasn’t sure what it meant that Anne hadn’t even told him. He knew they had shared a couple meals together, with W.D. and on their own. They had also had a lesson on subway usage, and a few general tips for getting around. So why hadn’t she told him about this specifically? Maybe she had simply forgotten?

Phillip had been absent so much, he wondered what else he was missing out on.

“Huh.” W.D. gave him a strange look, nodding slowly.

“What’s that for?” Phillip peeled himself away from the wall to look at W.D. more fully. He was still learning to read his brother-in-law, but he was getting better at it. Unfortunately this look was a new one.

“Nothing, I’m just kinda surprised you’re not being weird about it.” W.D. popped another french fry in his mouth.

Phillip shrugged. “Why would I be weird about it?”

“Oh, there we go. Now you’re being weird about it.”

“I’m not!”

“You’re doing that thing with your face.” W.D. used a fry to gesture at Phillip.

“What does that even mean? What thing?” Phillip asked and attempted to make certain his face was neutral. He thought it felt like a neutral face. W.D. just stared at him blandly.

“That constipated white boy look.”

“You know, I’m so glad our relationship has evolved so much. I really feel the brotherly love right now.” Phillip gestured between them. “It’s touching.”

W.D. laughed. “Hey, I’ll stop messing with you if you promise not to freak out.”

“I’m not freaking out! It’s not like my wife’s ex-boyfriend suddenly showed up out of nowhere, and they started hanging out all of a sudden.” Phillip shrugged, tossing his hands up. “My wife’s really tall, really good looking ex-boyfriend that she’s known since junior high, and who she has an entire history with. The ex she dated for three years, when we’ve only been together for two. Why-why would I freak out about any of that?”

When he finished his tirade, Phillip realized perhaps he was freaking out about it. Just a little bit. And while logically he knew it was all ridiculous, that didn’t stop it from needling at him. Especially when he was too tired to really think straight anymore.

“Okay, calm down, Carlyle.” W.D. put a hand on Phillip’s chest, forcing him to breathe slowly. “Deep breath, in and out. Are you done losing your shit now?”

Phillip looked up at W.D. “Maybe?”

W.D. laughed again and slung an arm around Phillip’s shoulders. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about, Anne loves you. For whatever reason.”

“Thanks? You’re really on a roll with this pep talk.”

“You know you can trust Anne, right?” Phillip nodded, of course he could. “She is totally, 100% gone on you, man. Hell, when we all went out to dinner that first time, all she could do was find ways to talk about you. It was annoying, because I knew all of her stories already.”

“Really?” Phillip brightened a little at that.

“Yeah, so it’s fine. Stop worrying.”

“I’m not worrying…?” The only response he got was a quirked eyebrow from W.D. “Okay. I’ll stop worrying,” Phillip mumbled.

“Good man. Now eat some more fries, your blood sugar’s probably low.” W.D. shoved the box under his nose.

Phillip obediently ate more, and really W.D. was right. There was nothing to worry about, just his own sleep deprived paranoia getting the best of him. Besides Anne had a lot of free time right now, and obviously Tony needed a friend. Phillip couldn’t really fault him for that.

He was soon distracted from his thoughts when P.T. called his name, and he heaved a sigh. Back to work.

 

***

 

It was close to an hour later when Anne popped in, with Tony in tow. He found them shortly after their arrival, talking to W.D. near the sidedoor the troupe always used.

They were teasing and jostling each other, looking very much like a trio of good friends. As Phillip drew closer he could hear W.D. recounting some story or another. Tony and Anne filled in the punchline in unison, as they all burst into raucous laughter. He tried to ignore the twinge of jealousy. Of course they all had stories together and inside jokes, there were years worth of memories between them. He knew it was stupid to be jealous, it was a pointless emotion.

“Phillip!” Anne detached herself from the others, crossed to him. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, suddenly aware of W.D. and Tony’s eyes on them. Anne gave him a slightly puzzled look when he pulled back, he ignored it and walked her back to the others.

“What have you two been up to?” he asked, glancing between her and Tony.

“I needed some things for my new apartment, apparently I’m hopeless according to Anne.” Tony shrugged, laughing.

“That’s because you are,” she said. “He didn’t even have any dishes!”

“I moved halfway across the country into a hotel, dishes weren’t exactly a priority.”

“You’ve been in your apartment for nearly a week now. Actual, real dishes should have become a priority.”

Tony shrugged. “Take out containers work just as well.”

“Oh, my god.” She rolled her eyes. Phillip couldn’t help snorting at Anne’s face, how utterly incredulous she was. She immediately swung her gaze to him.

“Oh, no,” she said. “You don’t get to laugh. At least I know he eats, which is more than I can say for you.”

“I eat.”

She gave him dark look before addressing W.D, “has he eaten today?”

W.D. gave Phillip an apologetic smile. “I shared some fries with him, but that’s it as far as I know.”

The look Anne gave Phillip at that was downright scary. “You have to promise me you’ll have an actual dinner tonight. With fresh vegetables, nothing fried.”

“I thought we were getting dinner?” He tilted his head at her.

“That’s why we stopped by,” Anne said, suddenly looking a little timid. A little guilty. “Tony and I did a lottery for Broadway tickets, and we got some. So I won’t be home tonight.”

“Hey, that’s great you guys.” He put a reassuring hand on Anne’s back, hoped his disappointment wasn’t too visible. With his hours what they were, he looked forward to any time he got to spend with Anne. Now that night was a bust. “I’m sure it’ll be really fun.”

Anne turned to face him more fully, her back to W.D. and Tony. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah.” Phillip glanced over her shoulder, weirdly embarrassed to be having a vaguely private conversation in front of the others. Or at least Tony. He still wasn’t sure why.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I just miss you, and I feel bad ditching you.”

“No, don't feel bad. You should go have fun. Besides, you know I’ll just fall asleep on the couch like an old man anyway.” He grinned at her. She returned his smiled, and leaned forward to kiss him. Still uncomfortably aware that the others were still there, Phillip turned his head slightly and she caught the corner of his mouth. He didn’t have to look up to know she was confused.

“Well,” Anne said to the group at large. “We should probably get going. I want to change before the show.”

They all said their goodbyes, and Tony was the first to head toward the exit. Anne lingered a moment, and Phillip grabbed her hand, squeezed it gently.

“I’ll see you later,” she said.

He nodded. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Her smile was wide, face relaxing as she let go of his hand, and started out the door. Phillip watched as it swung shut, pretended not to notice when Tony placed a hand on the small of Anne’s back, guiding her down the sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing to do with the fic... but I hope everyone checked out Zendaya's Joan of Arc dress at the Met Gala because _DAMN_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad author confession: I'm not super fond of this chapter and I'm tired of looking at it, so I'm just posting it!

Studio rehearsal and vocal training were the only things keeping Anne from going completely bonkers while the renovations were happening. It was only a few hours a week, but it was enough to keep everyone in good form when they weren’t performing. It was the end of their rehearsal, people already filtering out to get showers or head home. Anne stayed behind chatting with some of the girls, and was surprised when Tony popped his head inside the room. She knew he and W.D. were set to hang out that night. But she had thought it was later. 

“Hey,” he waved. “W.D. around?”

“He’s in the showers. Come here, meet some of the troupe while you wait.” Anne made the introductions, and it seemed that Tony easily charmed them all. Unsurprisingly. 

“So you’re a teacher?” Florence asked. 

“Yeah, Ballet over at the Weiss academy. Actually Caroline Barnum is in one of my beginner classes.”

“That’s how you two ran into each other again, right?” Lettie gestured at them both. “Small world.” 

“That right,” Tony said. “You know, Anne was a pretty talented ballerina when she was younger. I’ve always been surprised you didn’t go that route professionally.” 

“Nah.” Anne shook her head. “That requires way too much discipline for me. Besides, I’m happy where I’ve ended up.” 

“Because of ole blue eyes?” Lettie leaned in close, batted her lashes at Anne. She never missed an opportunity to tease either her or Phillip about the fact they were absurdly smitten with each other. It never actually bothered Anne, even if she pretended it embarrassed her. 

“Yes.” She stuck out her tongue at Lettie. “But I love our theater. I love what we do, and what we work on. I love you guys too, except Lettie. Because she’s a brat.” 

Lettie threw back her head and laughed, before hugging Anne tightly. “Nope, you love me most of all!” 

“Debatable.” Anne returned her hug. “Anyway, ballet requires an extra level of dedication I do not have. That’s why I never gave it a shot professionally.” 

“You coulda taught though. You would make a really great teacher.” Tony smiled at her. 

“Maybe, but as of right now I don't really remember much.” She laughingly made her way through the basic foot and arm positions, things even Caroline had already mastered. 

“See, you were always a natural.” Tony laughed. 

Mary and Florence seemed thoroughly entertained by this new direction of the conversation, both having trained in ballet when they were younger as well. After some teasing and challenging from everyone there, Anne finally agreed to a dance. She linked hands with Mary and Florence, and the three of them fell in line together to try -- and mostly failing -- to remember the first few steps of Dance of the Little Swans.

Although Tony immediately went into teacher mode, directing their movements and correcting any problems. Though Anne was sure he was using his beginner class voice. After a rather pathetic and graceless run through, that involved Anne getting kicked in the shins twice, they all dipped into demure curtsies while everyone else clapped enthusiastically. 

“We’re clearly ready for the New York City Ballet.” Mary struck a dramatic pose, pale blonde hair spilling over her shoulder. “Tell Phillip and P.T. it was nice working for them.” 

Anne cackled, imagining the horror of the New York City Ballet if they had just witnessed their performance. “They would be honored to have us, I’m sure.” 

“Hey, do you remember the Romeo and Juliet pas de deux?” Tony asked when Anne had finally calmed her laughter. By now W.D. had joined them, but neither seemed in a hurry to head out. 

“The balcony?” She thought for a moment. “I think so. Why, you wanna give it a try?”

“Yeah, for old times' sake?” 

“Sure, why not? But no lift. I hated that part, and after all the work today I might just puke if I have to hang upside down.” 

“Fair enough.” 

They fell into their starting positions, this one was surprisingly easier. But she had played the part in their school’s production, and muscle memory was a powerful thing. When it to the point where Tony would have lifted her, and draped her over his shoulder in the lift, he instead wrapped his arms around her waist and half carried, half swung her. 

She was laughing hysterically as he traveled across the floor, shrieking for him to put her down. Though her amusement quickly faded when she spotted Phillip’s confused face reflected in the studio mirrors.

“No, Tony. Really put me down.” She slapped his arm. He obeyed this time, finally spotting Phillip and dropping his arms from her waist. 

“Hey, Phillip.” 

“Hi everyone.” He walked more fully into the practice room, his gaze on Anne. “I got off work early, I thought I would swing by and we could get something to eat. But if I’m interrupting something…?”

“You’re not. We were just goofing off after rehearsal. Tony and W.D. have plans.” The air in the room had changed, and Anne desperately wished it hadn’t. It made it seem like it had been something wrong, something… improper. She hated it, and she hated that she couldn’t read Phillip’s face. 

“My stuff is in the locker room. Let me change real quick and we can go?” 

“All right.” He nodded, and Anne quickly kissed his cheek before heading to the door. Behind her she could hear Lettie deftly defusing the awkwardness that had settled over the room. Bless that woman.

“So Phil? When we finally gonna get our theater back?”

“Not soon enough,” he laughed lightly. 

Anne missed the rest of the conversation as she ducked out the door. She changed as quickly as she could into her street clothes, grabbed her things and headed back to the practice room. Phillip was still chatting with Lettie and the twins, though W.D. and Tony were gone. She breathed a sigh of relief at that. 

“Ready?” Phillip asked when she appeared.

“Yup!” 

They said goodbye, and quietly left. Once they were out in the hall, Anne draped an arm over Phillip’s shoulders while his instinctively went to her waist. At least that wasn’t awkward. 

“You know,” Anne drawled, hoping to get things back to normal. “We could go out to eat, or we could just order in.”

He eyed her askance, lips quirking. “And spend a boring evening at home?” 

“There are plenty of ways to entertain ourselves. I happen to know we are both very imaginative people.” She kissed his jaw, right below his ear. 

“Is that so? It almost sounds like you already have a plan of some sort.” 

“Well,” Anne said, still kissing along his jaw, and trusting him not to let her walk into anything. “I could tell you. Or,” she nipped at his ear, “I could show you when we get home. But first I need a shower after rehearsal. I think you need one too.” 

Phillip made a noise in the back of his throat, a content sound. “That is by far the best thing I’ve heard all week.” 

“Good.” Anne pressed several quick kisses to his cheek, before they walked out of the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and for reference: [Dance of the Little Swans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd2nTXsivHs) and [The Lift Anne Didn't Want To Do](https://youtu.be/zWBVa2m_4Fs?t=1m19s)
> 
> I'm really just making up all the theater/performance stuff as I go because I never gave it much thought before but now it's becoming mildly important? WHOOPS


	4. Chapter 4

It was a few days later that found Phillip trudging home, in the daylight. That fact alone was cause for celebration, unfortunately he found himself in a rather sour mood. He wasn’t sure if Anne would be home or not, had been so caught up in thinking about work that he had completely forgotten to text her. 

The day had been an absolute mess, between the contractor and electrician at each other’s throats with Phillip playing referee until finally the electrician quit on the spot. When Phillip opened their front door he was greeted by Anne’s shrieking laughter and cry of, “I did not!” And deep laughter he knew belonged to Tony. 

That made Phillip feel even more exhausted. He had promised himself to give Tony a chance, for Anne’s sake, and even W.D’s, they were all friends and Phillip didn’t want to be a killjoy. Still, he couldn’t say he was Tony’s biggest fan. Though he had yet to find any real fault with him, other than Tony’s over familiarity with his wife, but that wasn’t exactly grounds enough to hate him. Even if Phillip sometimes childishly wished it was. 

Taking off his shoes, and putting his keys on the hook by the door, Phillip walked into the living room and told himself he would play nice. And he did actually have to smother a smile when saw a bottle of wine on the coffee table, that explained Anne’s volume control issues. 

“Phillip!” Anne looked up at him, her eyes wide and the tiniest bit glassy. “You’re home? Before dinner?” 

“Something came up at work.” He laughed and stopped behind the couch, bent to press a kiss on the top of her head. “You two seem to be having fun.” Anne glanced at the bottle of wine, looked a little sheepish. Phillip placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbed his thumb against her neck to let know it was okay. Still she remained tense.

“Hey, since you’re home early. Wanna join us? There’s plenty of wine left, it was a welcoming gift of sorts from one my student’s parents.” Tony leaned forward, picked up the bottle.

“No, thank you, Tony.” 

“You sure? A little buzz might help with that paperwork.” He laughed, nodding toward the folders sticking out of Phillip messenger bag. 

“I, uh, don’t actually drink. So I’m good.” 

“What happened at work?” Anne asked, very obviously changing the subject. Phillip gave her shoulder a grateful squeeze. He didn’t exactly mind telling people he was an alcoholic, it just usually meant things got a little awkward afterward. 

“Well, our electrician decided he was done trying to coordinate with the contractor, and walked off the job. Unfortunately that means one half of the theater is without lights. Including my office. P.T. generously sent me home to find a replacement.” 

“Is it a big job still?” Tony asked.

“I don’t think so? Most of the major rewring was done, as far as I know.” 

“My dad is an electrician, and I worked for him like every summer until I graduated college. If you want, I could come down and see if it’s something I can finish?” 

Phillip stared at Tony, maybe he wasn’t so bad after all? “That would be amazing, honestly. When do you think you could swing by? 

“Tomorrow is crazy for me, more parent meetings, but I could stop by first thing the day after?”

“Sounds good to me!” Phillip reached over and shook Tony’s hand. Phillip though it might be good to spend a little time with Tony on their own, actually try to get to know him. “In the meantime I do have some bookkeeping to take of. So I’ll leave you both to your little party.”

Something about Anne’s expression gave him pause, he lifted an eyebrow in question. She shook her gently, flashed him a quick smile. Uncertain what else to do, Phillip went to their bedroom to get started on his paperwork. As he plugged in his laptop to charge, he half expected them to get rowdy again, but they remained rather sedate as far as he could tell. He hadn’t even really gotten started on sorting through bookkeeping invoices, when Anne appeared in the doorway. 

“Phillip?”

“Yeah?” He looked up at her. “Is Tony gone?” 

“Mhm, I gave him your cell number. He said he would try to get there around eight or eight-thirty, and that he would text you.” 

“Great!” Phillip smiled, looked back down at the spreadsheets on his laptop. He knew Anne was still hovering by the door without even looking.

“Are you mad?” she asked. 

His gaze snapped up to hers. “No, why would I be?” 

“We were drinking. I was drinking.” 

“Hey,” he said and got up from his chair, and ran his hands down her arms. “We’ve had that conversation before. You don’t have to abstain for my sake.” 

“I know, but it feels different if I go out with everyone to a club or something. This was at home. Our home, and I didn’t even tell you.” She looked beyond embarrassed, like a kid with their hand in the cookie jar. 

“This was perfectly harmless. I swear, I’m not mad or upset or anything. Mostly I’m happy because Tony is hopefully gonna do me a huge favor. So please don’t worry about it, okay?” 

“Okay.” She nodded. 

“Besides, you’re kind of adorable when you’re a little buzzed. You forget how to use your indoor voice.” 

She rolled her eyes, a smile starting to lift the corner of her mouth, and he thought she had started to relax. At least marginally. “I’m going to go start dinner, I got everything for mama’s étouffée.”

“My favorite.” He grinned. 

“I know.” She leaned in and kissed him. 

Phillip immediately pulled back, wiped his mouth with his thumb. “You still taste like wine,” he said softly. 

Anne looked stricken, and Phillip almost thought she would cry. “I’m going to the kitchen,” she mumbled and turned on her heel.

“Anne, it's not a big--”

“No, I’m just… going.” She disappeared down the hall, and after a minute he heard the faint clatter as she pulled out pots and pans from the cupboard. Phillip sat back down at his desk, rested his head in hands. Suddenly he could feel a headache coming on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soon is chapter 5. I like chapter 5. (◕‿◕✿)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this has one of my favorite moments thus far. Can you guess which? :D

Anne was surprised by the spur of the moment call to go out dancing, but she didn’t really question it. It seemed the rest of the troupe were just as antsy as she was. Even with odd-jobs and training taking up their free time, the break in performing was just a little too much. She was equally surprised when W.D. decided to invite Tony, but it would be good for him to meet more people. 

“Can’t we go somewhere quieter?” Anne yelled over the rumbling bass of the club, it was the second place they had hit. The first being the dive bar they frequented after shows. “We’re packed in here like sardines.” 

“Nea knows the bartender, he’s giving us a break on drinks,” Lettie yelled back. 

Anne rolled her eyes, of course that was it. They wound their way through the dance floor, past writhing bodies, and down a short corridor. It was thankfully quieter in the lounge area, though only marginally. At least in here she could hear people when they spoke. Some of the troupe had made it to the lounge, most notably was Nea perched on a barstool, talking to her friend behind the bar. The rest, as far as Anne knew, were out on the dance floor. 

“The group seems fun,” Tony said as they looked for a table while Lettie and W.D. got drinks. 

“They’re something.” They finally settled on a booth in the corner, the high backs dulling the noise even more. “Phillip said you took the job?” He had been so happy when he came home the night before, their meeting a success. Anne was so glad it had worked out. Things had been vaguely awkward between the two of them, and she thought it would be nice if they could be friends. Or least friendly. 

“Yeah! It seems relatively straightforward. We needed to order a couple things, and he’s being really relaxed about my schedule. It’ll be good, and I can’t say the extra cash won’t be nice. New York is an expensive city.” 

“Yes, it is.” 

“That’s why you marry rich, right Anne?” Lettie said as she plopped down next to Anne, some ridiculous bright green martini in one hand, and a club soda with lime for Anne in the other. 

“Shut up.” Anne stuck out her tongue, Lettie just laughed. 

“You teetotaling tonight?” W.D. asked.

“Yeah, Phillip’s going to join us. So…” she trailed off and shrugged. She didn’t want a repeat of the other day, she felt mortified every time she thought about it. Even if Phillip said it was fine, Anne still felt like she had somehow let him down. Broken a trust without a second thought. 

“Is he!?” Lettie lit up. “I can’t wait to see the boss shake it.” 

Anne snorted into her drink. “You’ve seen him dance before.” 

“I know, but it’s always such a thrill when he’s usually so serious.” She looked at Tony. “Plus he can actually dance. One day maybe we’ll get him in on cheoro, he could hack it as an ensemble dancer.” 

“I would pay so much to see that.” Anne tilted her head back and laughed, then she became aware of her phone buzzing in her purse. “Oh, it’s him!” she said, glancing at the screen.

“Tell him I’m waiting to see that cute butt on the dance floor!” Lettie nearly yelled into the mouthpiece. 

“You’re cut off!” Anne leaned away from Lettie. “Hi!” she answered, “Where are you? Are you almost here?”

“Uh… I’m still at the theater.” He sounded tired, and edgy. 

“But why?” He was supposed to have left a while ago, gone home to change before joining them.

His heavy sigh sounded through the phone. “I’m waiting for P.T. to get back with a water pump and some hipwaders.” 

“What?” She pressed a finger to her ear, trying to drown out as much background noise as possible. 

“The basement flooded. We shut off the water completely, but it’s still knee deep. I have no idea when I’ll be home.” 

“Are you all right? Do you need me to bring you anything, a change of clothes?” She tried not to sound too disappointed, not when his night was obviously a full on disaster. 

“No, it’s fine. Just have some fun with everyone.” 

“Okay, if you’re sure?” 

“Yeah, I am.” He paused. “I love you, and I’ll text you when I’m heading home.” 

“I love you too.” She ended the call, slipped her phone back into her purse. 

“What’s wrong?” W.D. asked. 

“He’s not coming. The basement flooded, and he and P.T. are still there dealing with it.” She knew it was silly to be so sad about it, but it would have been the first time they had been out, just for fun, since the whole remodel started. She’d had plans of getting her husband on the dance floor, of dancing just a little too closely and a little too provocatively, until he was so frustrated he had to take her home and ravish her. Anne didn’t think that was too much to ask, but now it was all ruined. 

“Aw, honey.” Lettie put an arm around her, let Anne rest her head on her shoulder. 

“You still got us.” W.D. smiled and kicked at her foot under the table. 

“Yeah. Come on, let’s go dance. That’ll help take your mind off that pretty boy of yours.” Anne nodded her agreement, let the others down their drinks before they all slid out of the booth. 

Anne was double checking to make sure she had her phone, when she accidentally shouldered someone. “Oh, I’m sorry…” she trailed off when she looked up, saw who it was. “On second thought I’m not sorry at all.” 

As if her night couldn’t any worse, of course she had to literally run into Eddie Carlyle for the first time in two years. She felt nauseous. 

“As I live and breathe,” he laid a hand to his chest. 

“Too bad,” she said, made to brush past him and catch up with the others. 

“Anne, you’re still as charming as ever, I see.” 

“I guess you bring out the best in me.” She shouldn’t continue to engage him, she knew that. But just seeing his face made all of her resentment from that weekend bubble up tenfold. 

His friends were starting to gather around him, and she quite unfortunately recognized their faces as well. The goon squad was in full force, apparently. Though by now the others had now circled back, realizing she wasn’t with them. W.D. came to stand shoulder to shoulder with Anne, and she knew that he knew exactly who it was standing before them.

“Problem?” W.D. asked, crossing his arms and glaring at Eddie. 

“Oh,” Eddie gasped, making like he was clutching his pearls. “Have you moved on from Phillip? Or did he finally come to his senses?” 

Anne made a face. “This is my brother, if you have to know. And actually, Phillip put a ring on it.” She held up her hand, extended her ring finger like she was flipping him off. 

“Well, I always knew he had questionable tastes.” 

W.D. took a step forward, mouth a thin line. Anne shoved him back, held up a hand to Eddie. “We’re leaving. You’re not worth the oxygen I waste talking to you.” 

She started ushering the others out of the lounge, only for Eddie to call after her. “I see Phillip hasn’t managed calm down you any. Still not fulfilling his husbandly duties?” 

It was the stupidest thing she had ever done, she knew that. Yet she couldn’t seem to stop the anger coiling in her stomach from grabbing hold of her common sense and strangling it. Anne whipped around and marched up to Eddie. Before he could even blink, she grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him as hard as she possibly could in the groin. He collapsed to the ground like a puppet with the strings cut, curling in on himself and howling in pain. 

His friends looked torn from wanting to offer him help, and possibly sticking up for him. Things got a little frenzied from there, as all the men started grumbling, more bodies adding to the group that Anne dimly realized were Walter and Constantine. One of the bartenders stepped out from behind the bar, a bouncer joining him. There was chaos for a short time as everyone tried to explain what had happened. In the end everything was concluded without an actual fight starting, but as the obvious instigators of the altercation Anne and Eddie were asked to leave. 

Once she was outside, having apologized to everyone for making a scene, Anne actually felt rather happy about it all. It had been extremely rewarding to see Eddie writing on a grimy floor in pain. 

“Y'all don’t have to come with me.” She glanced at W.D., Tony, and Lettie. “I’m only going to head home.” 

“We’ll just walk for a bit.” Lettie linked her arm with Anne’s. 

“I don’t mind leaving early, ain’t nothing gonna beat that.” W.D. was practically hopping up and down in excitement. “Please let me be there when you tell Phillip, I want to see his face.” 

“Would someone mind explaining to me what exactly just happened?” Tony spread his hands. 

“That was Eddie, he’s a giant douchebag,” Lettie supplied.

“I had figured that much out.” 

“It’s a really long story,” Anne said. As they got further from the club, and her adrenaline rush started to wane, Anne was beginning to feel nauseous again. 

“Cliff Notes then?” 

“Eddie Carlyle,” W.D. said, “is Phillip’s cousin. Couple years back he and Anne went to Eddie’s wedding. He was a complete asshole to Anne, and to Phillip, until he finally pushed too hard and Phillip whooped his ass. At his own wedding reception.” 

“You take entirely too much joy in that.” Anne wrinkled her nose at W.D. Her head was starting to hurt and she couldn’t wait to get home and put on pajamas. She hoped Phillip wouldn't be too late. All she really wanted at that point was to was curl up with him, and let him soothe her frazzled nerves. 

“What?" W.D. shrugged. "That’s when my respect for Phillip went through the roof. Well, at least it did after I realized he wasn’t an even bigger asshole than Eddie.” 

“What’s that about Phillip?” Tony asked, brows furrowing. 

“Nothing, it’s not important.” She gave her brother a long look, and fell back in step with Lettie. Although Anne had to stop after a few steps to untangle their arms. She turned, sprinted toward the mouth of an alley just behind them and threw up.

What a terrible fucking night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now with more CarWheeler.

Phillip shuffled into the apartment a little past two in the morning, absolutely dead on his feet. He managed a quick shower out of necessity, before he all but collapsed into bed. Once he was under the covers, he scooted a little closer to Anne. Even in her sleep she turned and pressed herself against him. He kissed her head before succumbing to his exhaustion.

It seemed he had only just shut his eyes, and then the alarm on his phone was going off. He reached over and silenced it. Set about detaching himself from Anne. God, what he wouldn’t have given to just stay there all day. 

“No,” Anne moaned, clutched at his shirt.

“Babe, I have to go. There’s a plumber coming.”

“Can’t P.T. do it?”

“We literally flipped a coin last night, I lost.” 

She shifted the pillow under her head, looked up at him pathetically. “I barely get to see you anymore.” 

“I know, and I’m sorry. It’s been one disaster after another.” He reached out, rubbed circles on her back. “But everything is close to being done, and then I’ll be back to normal hours. After I take a week off to sleep. Okay?”

“I guess?”

“Anne, I can’t skip out this morning. I need to be there.” 

“Well, I need you too. But you’re never here.” She sat up. “I ran into Eddie last night.”

“What?” His eyes went wide. “What happened?” 

“He was his usual self, and so I kneed him in the balls.” 

Phillip couldn’t stop himself, he laughed. “Can’t say he doesn’t deserve it.” He reached out, put a hand on her knee. “Are you all right though?”

“Yes, but I was still upset last night, and all I wanted was you. But you weren’t here, you’re never here.” She sniffed loudly, wiped her at her nose. 

“I’m so sorry. I want to make this up to you, so badly, and I will try.” He cupped her face, looked her in the eyes. “I just have to go meet with the plumber, and once that’s done I’ll come home. P.T. can handle everything else, or it will wait until tomorrow.” 

“You promise?”

“I promise.” He kissed her forehead. “Now I have to go, or I’ll be late.” 

“All right,” she nodded. 

Phillip stood up and started pulling out a change of clothes. Anne curled up on his side of the bed and clutched his pillow, watching him with sad eyes. He rushed to get changed and ready. Grabbing his phone from the bedside table, he kissed her gently.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

Walking out of their bedroom, he couldn’t remember a time when he had felt more guilty. 

 

***

 

It was still in the AM when Phillip returned home. He unlocked the door, settled his things and walked into the living room. Anne was sitting on the couching, watching him, eyes bright and far less mopey than she had been that morning. 

“You made it,” she said. 

Phillip smiled and spread his hands as he stopped behind the couch. “I am all yours for the rest of the day.” 

“Mine, all mine.” Her face split in a grin as she waggled her fingers at him. Laughing, Phillip moved around the side of the couch and they jostled a bit before settling together. Phillip on his back, with Anne sprawled on top of him and her face mashed in the crook of his neck. 

“I missed this,” she whispered. 

“So have I.” He sighed. “I’ve also missed just… not moving. Stillness is underrated.” 

Anne lifted her head slightly. “How much sleep did you get?” 

“Umm, maybe four hours? It’s all a blur at this point.” 

She sat up a little further, one hand braced on the arm of the couch while the other came up to smooth his hair back. “You’re going to run yourself ragged at this pace.” 

“I know, but we really are close to being finished. Once Tony gets the electrical settled, and we sort out the basement, all that’s left are cosmetic things and getting shit back where it belongs.” Phillip ran his hand up and down her arm, gave her a wry smile. “Now, I think I deserve the full story about Eddie?” 

Her eyes went wide. “Wait, there’s more!” She climbed over him, scrambling off the couch as she went to grab her phone. Once she found it, she clutched it to her chest and beamed down at him beside the couch. 

“Okay so, he was an arrogant ass, said exactly what’d you expect him to say and I just lost it. I got him really good, he was down like that.” She snapped her fingers. 

“I am so immensely proud right now,” he said fondly. “And maybe a little turned on?”

Anne laughed a little and continued, “But I saw the best part when I was reading the society pages earlier--” 

“Why were you reading the society pages?” 

“Because they’re interesting.” She grinned wider and thrust her phone in front of his face. “According to this Eddie and Heather are getting a divorce. That’s probably why he was out last night with the pack of idiots.” 

“Adding literal injury to insult,” Phillip laughed. “But really, it couldn’t happen to a nicer couple.” 

“You realize what this means, right?” Her eyes were sparkling as she sat her phone on the coffee table. Phillip shook his head. “It means you owe me.” 

Phillip looked up at her and his face crinkled, one eye squinting at her dubiously. “What do I owe you? Actually, wait, why do I owe you?” 

“Because you bet at their rehearsal dinner they wouldn’t make it more than three months. They lasted nearly two years. You lose.” 

He hummed while he thought back to that time, sat up a little and swung his feet to the floor. “First, I don’t recall you actually accepting the bet. Second, I seem to remember putting all my money down on said bet. Seeing as you already have access to my bank account, oh wife of mine, I don’t think I have much to offer.” 

Now it was Anne’s turn to hum while she thought. She moved to straddle Phillip’s lap and looped her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. 

“We can work out a payment plan,” she said. 

“What kind of payments were you thinking of?” Phillip looked up her, his fingers inching their way up her thighs. She tilted her head, pretending to make a big show of thinking it over when her face suddenly fell, looking a bit sour.

“Anne?” he asked. 

She slapped a hand to her mouth and shook her head a second before withdrawing from him, and tripping her way to the bathroom. Phillip was close behind, kneeling next to her and rubbing her back while she heaved into the toilet. 

When it seemed she had finally emptied her stomach, she sat up and flushed the toilet. Phillip stood, wet a washcloth and used it to clean her face. 

“I’m gross,” Anne whined. 

“Well, I remember you doing the same for me, so…” He shrugged and brushed back some of the stray curls from her forehead. “And we weren’t even together then.” 

She smiled, a little pathetic. “I think I’m getting sick,” she said. “I threw up last night too.” Anne grabbed the countertop and hauled herself to her feet to brush her teeth quickly. 

“Come on, let’s get you into bed. Maybe you can sleep it off.” Phillip wrapped an arm around her waist, let her sag against him. “We can even finish discussing your choice of ‘payments.’” 

“No, that’s only fun if I’m sexy.” 

“Good thing you’re always... sexy,” he finished absently as Anne whirled around, and crashed to her knees in front of the toilet again. “Well, almost always.” 

When she was finished being sick, she glared up at him. “You’re mean.” 

“I’m sorry.” He held out his hands, helped pull her up and a pressed a kiss to her forehead. Once again Anne brushed her teeth, gargled with mouthwash. 

Phillip got her a glass of water while she pulled on her pajamas and crawled into bed. He sat with her, rubbing her back and neck until she fell asleep. Once she was out, Phillip went to straighten up things a bit, plugged in their phones and turned off notifications. He took a quick shower and changed, honestly a nap sounded like the best option for both of them.

Anne remained sound asleep when he climbed in next to her. But as soon as he was settled under the covers, Anne rolled over and curled up next to him, hand fisting in the front of his tee shirt. He smiled, and tried not to worry about her too much before he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, everyone seems pretty dead set that Anne is preggers. I'm not sure why though? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> But speaking of, Happy Mother's Day I guess?

  
  
  
The timer on Anne’s phone went off, and she nearly jumped out of her skin at the noise even though she had been waiting for it. Shutting it off, she leaned over the bathroom counter and looked at the small, innocuous item sitting there.

“Positive,” she whispered. Just like the other two tests she had taken. Looking up at herself in the mirror, Anne thought she looked ridiculously pale. “I’m pregnant,” she said to her reflection.

Something about saying it out loud finally made it seem real. Anne sat down heavily on the toilet. It explained everything; the throwing up, the moodiness, and a hundred other little things she had brushed aside without a second thought. Even the fact she had been so needy in missing Phillip lately.

Phillip.

How on earth was she going to tell him? They hadn’t even discussed the possibility of children, because to her it had seemed like something far off in the future. She had been living in the moment, enjoying the fact they were married and had each other completely to themselves. Now though, now there was going to be a baby.

A thousand thoughts seemed to assault her all at once. Some of them she supposed were usual worries for soon-to-be-parents: would it be healthy? What about money and plans for the future? Or the fact they didn’t have enough room in the apartment? There were others too, and those were less universal worries: His parents, his entire family, really. Would she and Phillip tell them? Would they even care enough to acknowledge the child, or would they try to insert themselves like they knew best?

But even through her all of fear and uncertainty, Anne felt a growing happiness at the thought. A sweet, beautiful baby with a riot of brown curls, and their father’s smile. Tears sprang to her eyes as her heart seemed to swell at the mental picture. Hormones, she told herself.

It was all so overwhelming, and finally Anne decided she would first broach the subject of kids with Phillip, lay the groundwork so she wasn’t dropping a huge surprise on him. The last thing he needed was another bomb exploding in his face, even if it wasn't a bad thing. He was so tired and overworked, and she wanted it to be happy news not stressful.

Carefully disposing of the pregnancy tests so Phillip wouldn’t find them by accident, Anne started tidying up in order to keep herself busy while waiting for him to get home. He was surprisingly early, arriving well before dinner time when lately he had been arriving well after.

“Hey,” he said, setting down his things. “How are you? Still feeling okay?”

Once she had started to suspect the reason behind her bouts of nausea and vomiting, and realized the math worked out, Anne had tried to avoid being sick around him. Only because she had wanted to be absolutely certain first. Though she did wonder if he suspected she was still unwell. Soon it wouldn’t matter, she told herself.

“Yeah, fine.”

“Good.” He kicked off his shoes, flopped down on the couch. He shut his eyes, though Anne knew he wouldn’t take a nap. Even if she could see dark circles under his eyes.

Anne sat on the high backed chair next to the couch, and looked at Phillip, wondering how she could bring it up without it being extremely obvious. Then a thought struck her, a conversation from a couple months ago.

“I ran into Mrs. Nguyen when I was getting the mail," she said lightly. Mrs. Nguyen lived on the floor below them, was on the board of directors for the condominium association, and was probably one of the sweetest people Anne had ever met. She was also rather blunt at times. “She was asking me when I might start popping out some babies.”

Phillip laughed. “I hope you told her not anytime soon.”

“No?” Anne kept her voice teasing, though a bit of worry started needling the back of her mind.

“Could you imagine a baby right now?” He opened one eye. “I’m looking forward to getting back to a regular sleep schedule way too much.”

“What about eventually?” she prompted.

Now Phillip opened both eyes and looked at her more fully, shrugged a bit. “I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it. What do you think?”

“It might be nice?” She lifted her shoulders nonchalantly, though she suddenly felt more like crying. The idea of telling him the truth becoming more and more daunting by the second.

“Well, hey, tell you what? Let’s have this conversation again once we’ve recouped everything we just poured into the theater. Then I won’t need to have an anxiety attack about saving for college,” he said teasingly.

“Would that be the only thing you’d worry about?” she asked.

Phillip sat up, regarded her for a moment. “What’s brought this on? Other than Mrs. Nyugen?”

“I don’t know, it’s just we’ve never really talked about having kids. It seems like a conversation couples have at some point.”

“I guess it kinda scares me, if I’m honest.” He paused for a moment. “I mean, I don’t exactly have great role models in that department. And the thought of me being someone’s dad just seems like a terrible idea all around. Not sure I’d wish that on anyone.”

Anne’s disappointment was palpable, settling heavily inside her chest. The urge to cry overwhelmed her for a moment, but she managed to keep the tears in check.

“Hey, are you all right?” his voice was gentle, and he was leaning forward looking worriedly at her.

“Mhm, I’m just a little headachey this afternoon.” She rubbed at her temple.

“Why don’t you go lie down? I’ll fix dinner.”

Anne could only nod dully, barely sparing him a glance as she walked to their bedroom. She stretched out on the bed, thankful for some privacy. Phillip didn’t want a baby. Her hand absently went to her stomach, he didn’t want their baby. What was she going to do now?

 

***

 

She had thought about calling her mother, but she knew her mother would tell her grandmother, and she would tell W.D. and W.D. would absolutely blab to Phillip. Same with Lettie, or anyone else she was friends with really.

That left Anne one place to go.

Reaching out, she knocked on the front door of the Brownstone, and waited a moment before Charity Barnum opened it with a smile.

“Come on in!” She pulled Anne inside, gave her a quick hug before taking her coat and hanging it up. “You sounded strange on the phone, is everything okay?”

“I just needed to talk.”

“Of course. Do you want coffee or tea?”

“Tea would be lovely, please.”

Charity nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, Anne went to the living room and took up her usual place on the couch. She couldn’t really remember how it had started, but while the renovations were happening, it had become a weekly tradition for her and Charity to get together. They alternated houses, or sometimes went out to lunch, and it was something Anne always looked forward to.

Although this meeting was a few days earlier than usual, Anne desperately needing someone to talk to. After a short while Charity appeared with two steaming cups of tea and sat them on the coffee table to cool.

“Now, what’s wrong?”

Anne wasn’t sure how to say it, so she just blurted it. “I’m pregnant.”

“Oh, Anne!” Charity’s face lit up and she rocked forward, pulling Anne into a tight hug. “Congratulations! Is Phillip just beside himself?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk about,” Anne said when they pulled apart. “I haven’t-I haven’t told him yet. Um, I don’t think… I don’t think he wants a baby? I do though, I realize I want it more than anything.”

“Have you talked about it?”

“I brought up kids the other day. First he kinda joked about money, but he did admit it scared him and it wasn’t something he wanted to think about now.”

Charity nodded, as if she understood perfectly. “It is scary, I know. You should have seen Phin’s face when I told him I was pregnant with Caroline. I thought he might faint. He was working a bunch of odd jobs to keep us afloat, and it was hardly ideal. It’s never the perfect time, especially when babies are concerned.”

“It’s just after everything with the theater, all of the worrying and stress, I don’t know how he will handle this?”

“He is very good at worrying.” Charity smiled. Anne managed a weak laugh.

“He was also worried that he wouldn’t be a good father. But I couldn’t disagree more, I think he will make a wonderful father. And I can’t stop thinking about it, daydreaming about it.” Try as she might, Anne couldn’t seem to stop the tears pooling in her eyes from spilling over her cheeks.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Charity hugged her again. “Look, you’ll have to tell him sooner rather than later, but for right now why don’t you just take a day or two to get yourself acquainted with the idea. Do you have a doctor yet?”

“No, I didn’t know where to start.”

“Well I can refer you to mine. She delivered both Caroline and Helen, she’s very knowledgeable, and very calming,” she added with a wry smile.

Anne nodded. “Thank you, Charity.”

“All right, now come on. Tea won’t cut it today. I think we need to visit the bakery down the street for chocolate cake. How does that sound?”

“I think that sounds like a fantastic idea.” Anne gave her a grateful smile.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A double update for the 13th, because stuff iS HAPPENING

Phillip sank into P.T’s office chair with a pained moan, muscles aching. He had spent most of the day sorting out his office. Tony had finished the wiring, and now it was matter of getting all the things they had shoved in there when the basement flooded back to their rightful places. Between that and his general lack of sleep recently, Phillip was so far past the point of exhaustion he could barely function. He prayed no one would need him for at least five minutes. 

In the momentary quiet his mind drifted back to the conversation he’d had with Anne a few days prior, like it had most of the time since. The idea of children had never been something he pondered, because for most of his life it seemed as much of a pipe dream as him walking on the moon. 

But so much had changed in the last few years. He had changed so much, and for the better. He knew he had Anne to think most of it. And the more he thought about children, the more he warmed to the idea. To the point where he would imagine them in a house with a yard, and a baby girl with her mother’s eyes. The prospect was strangely exciting, and he started to realize he was actually more ready for kids than he had originally thought.

He knew he would need to bring it up to Anne again soon, ever since their conversation she had been a little moody, a little distant. He thought he must have offended her with his comments, at least a little bit. He had shut down the idea quickly. Too quickly. Phillip told himself they would revisit that conversation later, once he got home. 

A knock sounded on the door, interrupting his thoughts. Phillip let his head drop to the desk. “Come in,” he called with a sigh. He was surprised to see it was Tony who stepped inside.

“Hey, what’s up?” Phillip asked. He was actually glad he had hired Tony, it might have taken a little longer due to his conflicting schedule, but from what Phillip could tell he was a methodical and detailed electrician, so he wasn’t about to complain.

“I was hoping we could talk?” He took a seat when Phillip nodded.

“Yeah, of course. But since you’re here, I have your paycheck.” Phillip looked around the desk, cluttered with his and P.T’s things. Finally lifting up his laptop he found the envelope. “Ah ha! There you are.”

Tony’s eyes went wide when he looked inside. “Whoa, this is really generous.” 

“You did good work and you saved me a whole lot of trouble. I think it’s more than fair.” 

Tony sighed, slipped the envelope inside his jacket. “That makes this awkward.” 

Immediately Phillip felt his hackles rise, could feel his heartbeat pounding in his temples as a headache started to build. Why couldn’t he just have a break for five minutes? “I’m going to assume this is about Anne?” he said. 

“Yeah. You know she and I have known each a long time, and we used to… date.” 

“I’m aware.” And he had come to terms with it in the past few weeks, which Phillip was honestly rather proud of. Not that he would tell Tony that. Especially now, because those terms might soon be revoked. 

“Anne is a very important person to me, she’s been a huge part of my life. So I think you can understand why I’m worried about her.” 

“In what way?” Phillip already hated where this was going, but he tried keep his face as passive as possible. He felt like his father. He hated that even more.

“See the Anne I’ve always known and cared about is a fun, outgoing person. The Anne I see when we’re alone together is like that, but the Anne I see around you, isn’t.” 

Phillip let out a slow breath through his nose and idly wondered when other people would stop feeling entitled to their relationship. “I can appreciate your concern,” he finally said. “But I think you’ve misconstrued some things--”

“No,” Tony said firmly. “I know you’ve been working a lot, and I know that's put a strain. But I don’t think I’m misinterpreting anything. See, I looked you up. Read about your family. Hell, I met one of them a while back when we were out.” 

“Believe me, the fact I share any blood with Eddie gives me no warm and fuzzy feelings.” 

“Fine, but do you even realize how she acts around you?” Tony’s gaze was steady as he looked at Phillip. “She goes quiet, diminishes herself; she’ll police herself so she won’t do something you won’t like. When we were out she wouldn’t have a drink because you were supposedly coming, but you didn’t. Or at your house, she went from perfectly happy to sullen just by you walking through the door.” 

Letting out a sigh, Phillip rubbed at his temple. “She was embarrassed, Tony. See, it’s not just that I don’t drink, it’s that I can’t drink. Because I’m a recovering alcoholic. We’ve had conversations about this, her and I, privately. As a couple. I would never try to control her like that, or ask her or do something she wasn’t comfortable with because I respect her.” 

“Will you respect when this is over?” Tony blurted. 

“When what is over?” Phillip narrowed his eyes. 

“Whatever this is, with you two. You know how it looks,” Tony said. “A rich white man from a rich family swooping in, buying up old theaters and dating his employee pool. Or _using_ the employee pool, by the sounds of how this thing started with you two?”

“You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, but I don’t think I owe you any details about how our relationship started. You and I are not friends. If you want to know, go ask Anne.” Phillip leaned forward in his chair, mouth a thin line. “As for my family, if you had really done your research you would know I don’t have anything to do with them anymore.”

Tony nodded, as if thinking that over. “Okay, what happens when you decide you want to go back to that? Back to the cushy life? What happens to Anne when you’ve had your fill and decide to move onto greener, or whiter, pastures?” 

Phillip shook his head, huffed out an incredulous laugh. “So just out of the goodness of your heart, and with absolutely no ulterior motives, you’ve decided to come here and accuse me of what? Being a sleazy womanizer who only went after Anne because of a… predilection? Is that honestly what you’re saying?” 

Tony didn’t reply, he didn’t need to. He firmly, and surely met Phillip’s gaze and that was answer enough. Phillip worked his jaw, tried his best to rein in his temper. 

“I want you to leave my theater right now, and I never want to see you here again.” Tony opened his mouth but Phillip cut him off, “No. You’ve said more than enough. It’s time you left.” 

They stared each other down for a moment, but Tony finally rose from his chair and walked to the door. He left without another word. Phillip stood up, full of restless, angry energy. If he hadn’t just paid good money to repaint the walls he probably would’ve punched one. Instead he settled for kicking over the office chair.

“Hey, hey!” P.T. stepped inside. “Go trash your own office, I hear it even has lights now.” 

“I’m not in the mood, P.T.” 

“What happened?” 

“It would appear that giving Tony the benefit of the doubt was not the best choice.” 

P.T. pulled a face, glanced toward the clock on the wall. “C’mon, kid, let’s go get a coffee and you can tell me what the hell happened.” 

Phillip debated for a moment, was ready to say no, but P.T. seemed so earnest it was impossible to refuse. It usually was. Nodding, he moved around the desk and let P.T. shove him out the door. 

“Though maybe it should be tea for you,” P.T. said, slinging an arm around Phillip’s shoulders as they headed downstairs. “Chamomile.” 

Despite himself, Phillip laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna say that I feel like I've mentioned P.T. a thousand times between this and TTP. So it was really nice to actually write him. Even if just briefly.


	9. Chapter 9

Saying goodbye to Charity, Anne felt better than she had in days. Charity had even went ahead and called her doctor, somehow managed to finagle Anne an appointment in two days for an initial consult. It was good, Anne thought. She would see the doctor, get the official confirmation, make sure everything was normal and then she and Phillip would talk. 

Her phone buzzed, and she was surprised to see it was Tony. 

“Tony?” she answered. “Wait, slow down.” 

He was speaking rapidly, obviously agitated. She moved away from the middle of the sidewalk to try to listen him more carefully. What she heard made her eyes fly open wide.

“Phillip did what?” 

 

***

 

She was waiting for Phillip the second she heard him unlock the door. He stepped inside, put his keys on the hook without even looking up from the mail in his hand. She was beside him in a flash, tapping her foot angrily. 

“What happened today?” she asked.

Phillip looked up from the junkmail in his hand. “What?”

“Tony said you threw him out of the theater and banned him?” 

He rolled his eyes, incredulous. “Of fucking course,” he mumbled to himself before tossing the mail aside and walking past her to the living room. “Yeah, I did,” he finally said.

“What the hell, Phillip? He was helping you, why would you do that?” She hadn't believed it when Tony had told her, and she still couldn’t believe it now. 

Phillip turned to look at her, nodding. “He did help me. He put in the work, and I paid him for his time. Generously. It was a perfectly fine business transaction. Everything after that was not.” 

“So what happened?” she asked. On the phone Tony had mentioned a disagreement, and a misunderstanding. But she couldn’t possibly imagine what had set off Phillip so badly. Not when things had been going relatively well. She hadn’t imagined they would ever be best friends, but she thought they were getting along. 

“Your friend,” Phillip sneered, “decided he needed to lecture me about our relationship. About how it looked to people on the outside. Which frankly, I’ve already heard that kind of shit from my dad, so I wasn’t too excited to hear it again.” 

Anne shook her head, “No, he said you misunderstood him.” 

“I think he was pretty clear, on all fronts. And I think it’s pretty convenient that he called you to play the victim.” 

“No one is playing the victim, Phillip. Let me call and talk to him again, and we can straighten it out. There’s no way Tony would do that.” She glanced around, looking for her phone.

“Tony would, because Tony did.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair, and Anne could tell he was getting angry. She just couldn’t believe Tony would overstep that much, or that he would supposedly try to manipulate her like that. That wasn’t her friend. 

“He came to talk to me because he was concerned, about you,” Phillip said. “I can’t fault him for that, for wanting to make sure you’re all right. What I can fault him for, however, is acting like he needed to protect you from me; for looking me dead in the eye and implying that I only married you because I had jungle fever, and that it’s just a matter of time before I get bored and leave.” 

Anne’s eyes went wide, mouth dropping open. “No,” she said, shook her head. “There’s absolutely no way that’s what he meant. When he called earlier he said--” The mention of Tony - the defense of Tony - only seemed to stoke Phillip’s anger, and Anne realized her mistake too late. 

“Oh, well, it must be true because Tony said so,” he snapped. “I guess his word is better than mine.” 

She sighed heavily. “This can’t just be some horrible misunderstanding? It’s one or the other? You or him?” 

“Look, Anne, you are your own person. You make your own decisions. If you want to give Tony the benefit of the doubt, fine. You two are friends, continue to be friends. But I don’t like him, I never will, and I never want him in my home or my theater again.” 

Now Anne’s own anger was starting to bubble up, even as she told herself she needed to remain calm. “That doesn’t sound like you’re giving me much of a choice in the matter, Phillip.”

“Well, in a perfect world I don’t think it would be much of a choice between your husband or your ex, but I guess it isn’t a perfect world. So good luck sorting out your feelings, Anne.” 

“You think my feelings are clouding judgment?” She glared at him. “I think you need to look in a mirror, right now.” 

“I think you’re ready accept his word over mine. Because apparently I’m just jealous while he’s a saint. But I think he’s a fucking liar who still has feelings for you.” 

Anne could only rub her hands over her face, try to calm herself down. “This is getting us nowhere, Phillip. We’re stopping this conversation right now before someone says something ugly.” 

“You’re right.” He nodded and walked to the door.

“No, what? Where are you going?” Anne asked, following behind him. 

“I think it’s best if I’m not here right now.” 

“Phillip wait--” Anne reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

“No, I should go.” 

“At least tell me where you’re going?” 

He didn’t look at her, instead grabbed his keys and opened the door. “I’ll sleep on the couch in P.T’s office,” he said, let the door click shut behind him. 

Anne stared at the door for a long time after he left, eventually she strode over to the couch, snatched up one of the throw pillows and screamed into it. 

 

***

 

They didn’t talk to each other once the following day. Phillip only returning in the morning long enough for a shower and change of clothes, before presumably heading back to work. He didn’t return home until late, slept on the couch, and was gone again in the morning before she was even up for breakfast. In the afternoon Anne had her first doctor’s appointment, still surprised it had fallen into place so quickly. 

Dr. Kline was a very kind, and gentle woman. Immediately putting Anne at ease while they went over everything, her blood test officially confirming what she already knew. The entire time she kept thinking about Phillip, wondering how she would tell him now. The visit ran late, and she was surprised when she found Phillip was actually home before her. He didn’t say a word to her but the look he gave her clearly held a question, “where were you?” She didn’t answer, couldn’t answer. Not yet. Not after their fight. Anne felt they both needed to apologize, but she was still upset and a little angry. And she was afraid she would just blurt it out to him. The last thing she wanted to do was yell the fact she was pregnant at him, like it was a threat. 

So Anne did the only thing she could think to do: she avoided him. She hid in their bedroom that evening. Only appearing to leave extra blankets and a pair of pajamas on the couch. 

Over the course of the next few days she was an utter coward, and she knew it. Leaving the house anytime she thought he would be there, thankful when she actually had reasons to leave: a follow-up doctor’s appointment, tea with Charity where she deftly avoided talking about Phillip. The only problem was that it turned out he was home more and more, his hours slowly scaling back and returning more to normal. Like he had promised they would. In that time she also avoided Tony, but it was far easier to ignore his phone calls than to ignore Phillip, and much less painful. 

Eventually though she and Phillip started to speak minimally out of necessity. Only talking about practical, everyday things, and the fact the troupe would be able to practice in the theater again soon. He never tried to apologize, and that only made her angrier. Although she never tried to apologize either, knowing things had gone far past a simple argument over what Tony had or hadn't said. And the longer it went on, the harder it was to put a stop to it.

On the first day everyone was due back at the theater they left the house separately, and part of her didn’t even want to go. She didn’t want to have to pretend in front of everyone, even if W.D. and Lettie knew _something_ was going on, and that likely meant the rest of the troupe knew as well. Still she forced herself, falling into line with everyone else as they warmed up.

It did feel good to be on the stage again, and even if she was still angry with him, still hurt, Anne had to admit that Phillip had done a wonderful job on the remodel. The theater had never looked better, and she couldn’t help but feel proud of him. All of his tireless work had paid off. 

Anne was trying to concentrate on her foot work, but stopped mid-way through the current routine, her morning sickness flaring back to life. She slapped a hand to her mouth and raced backstage. The first thing she saw was a prop urn used as decoration in one of the scenes. She grabbed it, sank to her knees and vomited. 

Almost immediately she felt Phillip’s hand on her back; gentle and reassuring. She hated it. She hated that even in the middle of whatever was going on with them, he could still be so sweet. So caring. She hated that they were fighting, and the situation. She hated that she still couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the pregnancy, and that she was pushing him away because of it; because she was afraid. 

“Are you all right?” he whispered, rubbing her back. Anne wanted to cry. 

Finally nodding in response, she clambored to her feet. She meant to go to the bathrooms to sort herself out, knowing she was probably going to throw up again anyway. Phillip stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, moved around to face her. 

“Will you please just look at me?” he asked. She did, for a second, before averting her gaze so that she really wouldn’t cry.

“So you can’t even look me now.” Phillip sighed. “I just wish you would tell me what’s wrong.”

“You know what’s wrong,” she said. 

“No, I don’t, Anne. That’s the thing. There is something else happening here, not just the fight, and you won’t tell me.”

“There is nothing going on, Phillip.” She spoke firmly, and met his gaze only to see him flinch as if she had slapped him.

He raised his eyes to the rafters and shook his head. “You don’t think I can tell when you’re lying? Give me some credit, Anne. I know you better than that.” 

“I’m not lying!” Except she was, and now he knew it, and yet she still couldn’t seem to stop. 

“Yes, you are! Why can’t you just tell me what this is about?”

By now most of the troupe had made their way backstage, curious and concerned, and the last thing Anne wanted was a very public, and very pointless fight. She still felt sick, and tried hard not to throw up on his shoes. 

“We’re making a scene, Phillip,” she said, voice quiet.

“I don’t care! I’m worried, Anne, and I’ll keep making a scene until you tell what the hell is happening. I deserve to know!”

“I just need time to think!” she burst out. It was all too much and it was exactly like it had been a few days ago; everything quickly spiraling out of her control. All she needed was a moment to figure out how to fix it. Her stomach rolled, and she knew she was going to be sick. “Just let me think!” She impulsively shoved Phillip’s shoulder, more to keep him from blocking her escape to the bathrooms than anything else. But that intent was completely lost on him. 

Phillip ran both hands through his hair, fingers digging into his scalp. “Fine, take all the time you need,” he said icily and whirled around. 

Anne didn’t wait to watch him go, instead heading toward the bathrooms again. Though she heard W.D. call after him, heard Phillip’s angry reply. 

“Hey!” W.D. said. “Where you going, man?” 

“Don’t know. Somewhere to think, or not think? Hell, maybe I’ll just go find a bar and forget every-fucking-thing!” 

Opening her mouth, Anne wanted to stop him, to race after him, but she could feel bile rising in the back of her throat. She ran into the bathroom, only barely making it to the toilet before she was sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *finger guns*


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about being all mean and leaving this a couple days, but I'm just too impatient. So here's chapter 10, in which everyone cries.

“Don’t know. Somewhere to think, or not think? Hell, maybe I’ll just go find a bar and forget every-fucking-thing!” Phillip yelled at W.D. over his shoulder. Yanking open the side door, he thought he heard W.D. starting to hurry after him. “If anyone follows me: you’re fired!” he bellowed, letting the metal door slam shut behind him. 

Out on the street some of his anger seemed to ebb away, and he sighed. Phillip had absolutely no intention of actually going to a bar. So instead he walked around the city, for the rest of the day, and well into the evening. All he did while he walked was think; he thought about Tony, and Anne, and at what point things had started to blow up in his face. Phillip didn’t think his anger with Tony was completely out of line, he had been offended, but his anger was more than it should be. To the point he had let it overflow, and get directed at Anne. 

The realization he came to as he wandered aimlessly, was not a happy one, but it was something: Phillip was angry with Tony because he hadn’t been completely wrong, Anne _had_ been acting strangely. It seemed like for weeks she had been running hot and cold, slowly becoming withdrawn and moody. For days now she had been actively avoiding him, and it wasn’t just because of their fight. He knew, deep down, there was something else going on. The fact she wouldn’t tell him, hurt. It also scared him. So many things seemed to be flying out of control. 

Phillip’s next realization was a devastating one, and the only thing that made sense to him in the moment: Anne’s feelings were changing. She had said herself she needed time to think, what else would she need to think about? Phillip wanted to blame Tony, but in the end he figured he would really only have himself to blame. 

When the sun set, and the air started to grow cooler as night crept in, Phillip knew he couldn’t put it off any longer. He had no coat, and no gloves. He had to go home, and he had to talk to Anne. Steeling himself, he turned toward home to potentially receive the worst news of his life. 

 

***

 

The second Phillip stepped inside, he was nearly knocked over by Anne as she all but crashed into him. He stood in shock for a moment, as her fingers dug desperately into his shirt while she sobbed on his shoulder. 

“Where were you?” she cried. “I called and texted you dozens of times.” 

“I turned my phone off.” 

“You said were going to a bar, and then I couldn’t reach you. You can’t do that to me, Phillip. You can’t ever do that to me!” Her voice was thick, and her entire body shook with the force of her sobs as she clung to him. Phillip weakly rubbed her back, nearly overwhelmed with guilt. 

They didn’t say anything else for a long time as Anne tried to collect herself. Eventually she withdrew from him, crossed over to the couch and grabbed a wad of tissues. That was when he noticed the coffee table and floor littered with what looked like an entire box worth of crumpled ones. He felt his guilt start to build even more, nearly suffocating him. 

He shook his head, shrugged stupidly. “I’m sorry. I was pissed off, I just said it because it was a terrible thing to say. I was walking around. I needed to clear my head.” 

“Did you?”

“Sort of?” He sucked in a deep breath, there was no dancing around it. “Things haven’t been good, Anne.” 

She looked down at her feet, eyes red rimmed and glassy, and leaned against the back of the couch. “I know.” 

“I’m worried about you, and I’m upset that you won’t tell me what’s wrong. Because I know there’s _something._ ” He paused, wanting to keep things from spiraling again. “I have thoughts about what it could be, and none of them are good.” 

She flinched at that. 

“I just want the truth, Anne. Will you please talk to me?” He felt tired, but not like he had the past few weeks. This seemed to settle into the very marrow of his bones until they practically ached. Or maybe that was just the thought of losing Anne.

Her eyes swam with tears again. She swiped at her face, looked up to keep the tears from spilling. “I don’t think I can, Phillip. I’m scared and I don’t think I can talk to you.” 

“Please? Whatever this is, we’ll work through it.” 

“What if we can’t?” she whispered. Phillip sighed and rubbed his forehead. Was she really to leave him? He could barely form the thought, and he knew he would never be able to say it out loud. 

“Then we’ll try to figure something else out. I promise,” he said, meeting her eyes again. 

“I didn’t mean to lie to you,” she said. “I just haven't known what to say. I’ve had a couple doctor visits recently... I’m not sick,” she added when his eyes went wide. “I just needed to confirm something.”

“And what was that?”

Anne paused, took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant, Phillip.” As the soon as the words were out of her mouth she was crying in earnest again, hands pressed to her stomach protectively. “And I know you don’t want it, but I do. So, so badly.” 

Phillip was completely unprepared for that. He remained perfectly still, not even breathing as Anne’s words sank into his consciousness. So much started to make sense, and he felt like an idiot for not realizing sooner. All of his worries seemed to fall away in an instant, until only a feeling of elation was left. Slowly, he became aware of the fact Anne that was still sobbing, and he knew he had to fix it. He _needed_ to fix it.

He went to her side and the second she was aware of his presence she tucked herself against him, letting him wrap her up in a hug, and pressed her face against his neck. Phillip ran his hand up and down her back, the other cradling the back of her head. 

“Why do you think I don’t want it?”

“Because when I brought it up you said it scared you, and that you would be a terrible dad and you wouldn’t wish that on anyone. How was I supposed to tell you after that? Then we fought, and I just _couldn’t_.” 

“Forget what I said.” Phillip cupped her cheeks and used his thumbs to wipe her tears. “When you asked me I had never even contemplated it before, so I answered like a complete ass. But the other day, before Tony came to talk to me, I had planned to come home and have that conversation again. Properly. I’d started seriously thinking about our future in a way I never had before. With an actual house, and a garden like your mom’s, and a little boy or girl running around.” 

She managed a watery smile at that. “Really?”

“Yes. My god, Anne,” Phillip paused and kissed her forehead, a stunned smile spreading across his face, tears burning behind his eyes. “We’re gonna have a baby.” 

“You really mean that?” She seemed to relax slightly, a spark of hope in her eyes. 

“I really mean that. I was… I had so many stupid ideas in my head about what was happening. But this? This is amazing. I don’t think I’ve been this happy since you said you’d marry me. And I’m so, so sorry you’ve been dealing with this on your own.” He hugged her again. 

“I should have told you right away,” she said, voice soft. “It’s just when I took the pregnancy test I was happy, but I was overwhelmed too. We hadn’t talked about it, and you were so stressed with work and-”

“Then I answered like a moron, and that cemented all your worries. I get it. And then we fought, and that made it even worse.” 

“But I--”

“No, Anne, it was a shitty situation. This, and everything with Tony.” He pulled back, met her eyes. “The thing is, if this was five years ago we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Because five years ago I was a drunk. I had no purpose, I just skated by because of my name. I went out drinking every night until I could barely walk, because that was something. It made me feel something.”

“That man,” he continued, “never thought about his future; never looked past the bottom of his glass because he was only ever a disappointment. Sometimes I still get stuck in that. Then Tony showed up, and it seem to amply. Because there were memories of the good old times, and inside jokes, and a whole history I could never compete with. And no matter how much I try, I can’t help thinking one day you’re going to wake up and realize you can do so much better than me.”

Her face crumpled and she pulled him close again, hands fisting in his shirt. “No I can’t,” she whispered. 

Phillip held her close, buried in his nose in her hair. “I was insecure and jealous, and when Tony confronted me, he said a lot of stupid shit but one thing was true; you had been acting strange. Though now that makes more sense.” He huffed a laugh. “But because of that one thing I let my insecurity eat at me, and I was an asshole. For that I’m sorry, and I’m so sorry I made you cry.” 

“To be fair, I am extremely hormonal.” Anne laughed a little. “I think we both let our fears get the better of us.”

He nodded slowly. “We did kind of outdo ourselves with this one.”

“You really are happy?” she asked.

“Beyond happy.” Phillip grinned at her. She gave him a glowing smile, leaned forward and kissed him softly. 

“Are _you_ happy?” he asked when they broke apart. 

“I am. I want all of this so, so much and when I thought you didn’t, I was scared everything was going to be ruined.” She reached up, placed her hands on either side of his face. “Do you remember what you said to me, two years ago at the theater?” 

“Uh, that I was incredibly sorry?” 

Anne almost laughed. “You said I was all you ever wanted.” 

“I meant it. I still mean it.” 

“I know. And _you_ are all _I’ve_ ever wanted, Phillip. I’m sorry I pushed you away, and I’m sorry I made you doubt things. Because this is everything I want; I want a family and a future with you. I know you are going to be an amazing father, just like you are an amazing husband and friend and partner.” Her thumbs brushed his cheeks, and his throat suddenly felt tight. “You are not a disappointment. You are the most wonderful person I know, and I love you.” 

“I thought it was my job to make the flowery speeches.” Phillip swallowed thickly, cleared his throat. 

“It is.” She brushed her lips against his cheek, his forehead, his lips. “I just need you to know that it’s always going to be you and me. No one else.” 

“Well, someone else.” His gaze dropped pointedly to her stomach. She giggled, her smile wide. “You said you saw a doctor. Do you know how far along you are?” 

“About seven weeks or so. The doctor put my due date sometime in November.” 

Phillip laughed, a little in awe of the whole thing. “And everything is okay?” 

“Yes. All my bloodwork was normal. I have another appointment in a little while, the doctor is going to do an ultrasound and we’ll be able to hear the heartbeat.”

This time when tears burned Phillip’s eyes, he was unable to keep them at bay, his utter joy overwhelming him until it spilled out. He pressed his forehead to Anne’s, one hand on the back of her neck, the other at her waist. 

“I love you, so much.” 

“I love you, too.” Her face was absolutely radiant when she kissed him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't really plan this chapter? I just kinda belated realized I should probably deal with Tony? (But Anne and Phillip are still cute so there's that)

After Anne had sent out texts to let everyone know things were okay, she and Phillip spent the rest of the evening reconnecting. They talked about everything until they were certain they were on the same page. It was something they should have done days ago, she knew, but that didn’t matter now. They spoke plainly, and vowed never to let their feelings eat at them that way again, whatever fear -- however trivial or ridiculous -- would be addressed with no judgement. They also talked about the future, and all that would entail. 

When the hour grew late, they made their way to bed and reconnected with tentative kisses, and soft caresses. No rush. No hurry. Only the moment and each other. Everything slow and gentle; punctuated with sweet kisses and loving words. After, they lie huddled together in bed, limbs entwined and both perfectly, happily content. 

“You should get some sleep,” Anne said, hand rubbing up and down his arm. “I know you need it.” 

“That reminds me of something.” He rolled away from her, and Anne made a face at the back of his head.

“What are you doing?” She watched as he grabbed his phone from the bedside table. 

“I’m texting P.T. to tell him that I’m finally following through on my threats to stay in bed for a week.” He sent the text, sat down his phone again. “And that you’re joining me.” 

She giggled. “We can’t stay in bed all week, Phillip.”

“Is that a challenge? Because I accept.” He pulled her close again and kissed her. “Although you’re probably right, but at the very least we can sleep in tomorrow and have a lazy day together. Just the two of us.” 

“That sounds fantastic.” Anne kissed him again, and wondered how many days they could conceivably get away with. Two for sure, maybe three if they were lucky. Then a random thought struck her, and Anne was hesitant to even mention it. Though it seemed Phillip knew something was up by the look on her face. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“I just realized something: I’m going to have to talk to Tony.” 

He thought that over for a moment. “Yeah, you are. Good luck with that.” 

Anne rolled her eyes and playfully slapped his shoulder. They had, of course, talked about that in greater detail. Phillip recounting his and Tony’s conversation, and Anne slowly realizing how wrong she had been. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.” 

“I doubt I would’ve listened to me either. I was so tired and angry, everything was a knee jerk reaction. Including storming out.” His hand ran over her hip and waist; a gentle apology. 

“We said no more guilty thoughts.” 

“I do guilt really well though, in case you hadn’t noticed.” 

“Well stop it.” Anne smoothed her fingers over his forehead, trying to erase the way his brows had knotted together. 

“Fine. So what are you going to say to Tony?” he asked. “Because I was thinking if you didn’t want to talk to him, I could just go up and say, ‘by the way, I put a baby in her!’ See how that goes?”

“That’s terrible.” This time she palmed his face, shoving gently while he laughed. “First, I’m going to explain to him that he was incredibly wrong and way overstepped. Then I’m going to tell him how wonderful my husband is, and how much I love and adore him.” 

“Mhm,” Phillip nodded approvingly. “Please, go on. Your husband sounds amazing.” 

“Even if he’s a smug asshole,” Anne laughed. She kissed him again, rolled backward until Phillip was on top of her and wrapped her arms around him. They stole soft kisses, lazy and relaxed. After a long while Phillip pulled back, and looked down at her seriously.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but when you talk to Tony? You should try to be gentle with him, you’re gonna break his heart.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not.” 

“I think you are. Not that I really blame him, you would be impossible to get over.” He traced his lips along her jaw, down her neck.

“You’ll never have to,” she said, fingers sinking into his hair. 

“And for that I am eternally grateful. Now,” he said against her throat. “I think I’m done talking about Tony.”

“Me too.” 

His breath was warm against her collarbone, lips grazing her skin. “In fact, I think I’m done talking all together.” 

“Mm, it is late. We should sleep.” 

“We could.” He kissed a path across her chest. “Though I had other thoughts. Really fun ones.” 

“You’re awful,” she said, giggling when his breath tickled against her neck.

He lifted his head and looked at her, blue eyes mischievous. “No, Anne, I think you’ll find I’m actually very good.” 

Anne gave him a slow grin. “Now who’s been filling your head with such lies?” 

Her shrieking laughter filled the room, Phillip’s fingers finding their way to the back of her knees, tickling in retaliation until they were a tangle of blankets and limbs and laughter. Though soon enough her giggles were muffled by his lips, and replaced with soft sighs and throaty moans. 

 

***

 

“I’ll be here,” Phillip leaned back against the railing leading up to Tony’s apartment building. He had his coat buttoned all the way, collar up to ward off the cold spring wind whipping through the city. 

“You could wait inside the building?” 

He squinted up at it, shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.” 

She pecked his cheek. “I promise I won’t be too long.”

“It’s fine, it might be a big conversation. Don’t worry about me.” He gave her a reassuring smile. 

Anne took in a deep breath, and ascended the steps. She rang Tony’s apartment, waited a moment before she was buzzed inside. She continued down the hall, until she found Tony’s apartment on the end and knocked. He opened it immediately. 

“Come in. It’s good to actually hear from you.”

“You know that you and I need to talk, right?” she asked, stepping inside. 

“Yeah. I figured.” They stared at each other for a moment, Anne trying to figure out where to start exactly. Everything she had planned on the way over suddenly escaping her.

“Is everything good with you, though?” he asked. 

“You mean with me and Phillip?” She raised an eyebrow. “Yes. It is.” Anne sighed. “Why did you lie to me, Tony? About the conversation you had with Phillip?”

“Because I don’t think he’s good for you.” 

“And you think you know what’s good for me?” She shook her head. “You don’t know Phillip at all, and you hardly know me anymore.” 

“I think I know you pretty good, Wheeler.”

“Carlyle,” she corrected. “My name is Carlyle now. And maybe you knew me once, but it’s been five years, Tony. It was fun hanging out again, and catching up. But what you said to Phillip wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t your place to go to him like that.”

“It felt like someone had to, Anne. Everything I’ve heard or seen about your relationship has been questionable at best. Yet no one seems to bat an eye.” 

Anne covered her face. “So you’re here a few weeks, and suddenly you know so much better than everyone else? Better than W.D? He admittedly took time to warm up to Phillip, but now they’re best friends who talk shit about sports and go to too many Mets games in the summer. Or better than my mom, who has treated Phillip like family since his first visit to New Orleans? Whatever you think you know, Tony, is wrong. Phillip is a good man, I wouldn’t have married him if he wasn’t.”

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt is all.” 

“I’m not going to get hurt, and even if I was, that isn’t your place.” 

He took a step closer, just a little hesitant, but his eyes were earnest. “What if I want it to be?”

And there it was, Phillip had been right. Anne sighed, tried to think how to make this as gentle and concise as possible. 

“Look, Tony. I’m sorry if you’ve gotten the wrong impression over the past few weeks. Because it’s only been friendly on my side, like when we were kids. I love my husband. He’s the one I chose, and the one I will always choose.”

“How can you? Some rich boy like that isn’t meant for the long haul.” 

“Yes, he is,” Anne said firmly. “You don’t know him, you don’t know us. And you sure as hell don’t get a say in it. I’m going now, Tony, and I think it’s best if we didn’t talk anymore.”

“So you’re honestly going to tell me you love him? Even after I’ve seen the way you act around him. The strain, the tension? That’s what you want?” 

Anne let out a slow, frustrated breath. Finally she met his gaze squarely. “I love Phillip, as much as he loves me. I know, without a shred of doubt, he is going to be by my side through everything. He is… he’s my soulmate, Tony.” She shrugged, thought she probably sounded ridiculously sappy but it didn’t really matter. “He’s also going to be the father of my child.” 

She hadn’t wanted Tony to be the third person she shared that news with. Especially when she and Phillip had decided to wait until her second trimester to start telling people. But she needed him to understand.

“I know I haven’t been acting like myself lately, but it’s because I’m pregnant. I’m hormonal and emotional, and Phillip has been stressed and running himself ragged. That’s the tension you’ve seen, that you decided to insert yourself into. But things are settled now between Phillip and me, and I’m so happy. I think if you really cared about me, as a friend or something else, you would respect that.” 

Tony was silent for a moment, and Anne let him process everything. He didn’t quite meet her eyes when he finally spoke, “Congratulations. I always thought you would be a good mom.”

“Thank you.” Anne turned and opened the door. “Goodbye, Tony.” 

She sighed once she was out in the hall. It might not have gone exactly how she had hoped, but it was over now, and she felt better for it. Stepping through the front doors of the complex, Anne found Phillip exactly where she had left him. His head bent over his phone. 

“That better not be work related,” Anne said walking down the steps.

Phillip looked up, gave her a shy smile as he pocketed his phone. “No. I was texting W.D. and apologizing for being a dick.” 

“I’m sure he appreciated it.” She smiled. 

“So how did it go?” Phillip pulled a face at Anne’s pathetic shrug. “That good, huh?” 

“You were right. About him having feelings.”

He drew in a breath on a hiss. “Wish I hadn’t been. Did you let him down easy?” 

“I guess? There’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“Right. You still want to go to lunch?” 

“Yes, please.” Anne laced her arm through his as they turned away from the apartment building. After a little while she rested her forehead against his temple. “Phillip?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m glad it’s you.” 

“For what?”

Anne pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek. “For everything.” 

He looked at her carefully, eyes trailing over her face, before he leaned in and softly kissed her. “Me too,” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue coming soon!


	12. Epilogue

_[The Carlyle household, some number of weeks later]_

 

Anne sat on the edge of their bed, trying desperately not to cry. When Phillip found her, he proceeded with caution, sitting behind her and gently rubbing soothing circles on her lower back. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I don’t want to go tonight.” 

He nodded at that. “Then let’s call Charity and P.T, I’m sure they’ll understand better than anyone.”

“Nooo,” Anne whined, heaving a sigh. “We promised, and it’s important to them.”

“Okay, then what’s got you nearly in tears? Can I do something about it?”

She turned to face him, her belly coming between them. “I’m nine months pregnant, I’m uncomfortable no matter what I do, and I can’t even put on a stupid pair of socks!” She tossed the balled up socks at the closet door. “And my feet are cold because I have poor circulation because I’m nine months pregnant!” 

Anne frowned at Phillip. “And now my husband is laughing at me.” 

“I’m not laughing.” Though his lips twitched and her frown deepened. He leaned forward, kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I’ll help you with your socks.” 

“I feel like an invalid.” 

“It’s practice for when the baby comes.” He laughed, retrieving her socks. 

“Don’t.” She pouted. 

“Then just pretend you’re Cinderella.” He knelt in front of her, slipped on one sock and then the other, smoothed down the hem of her leggings. They were the only thing left that fit her anymore, and she was thankful for their general existence. 

Phillip kissed her knee before glancing around. “Shoes?”

“The ankle boots.” She pointed at the slouchy suede boots that were still loose enough for her to wear. Once that was taken care of, Phillip stood up and pulled Anne to her feet. She brushed back her hair, smoothed out her purple maternity dress. 

He gave her a charming smile. “You look beautiful.”

Anne gave him a dirty look. “I do not.” 

“Glowing?” he tried.

“I went past the pregnancy glow to the pregnancy sweats a long time ago.” She gently prodded his chest. “This is your fault, Carlyle.” 

“No,” he said. “I don’t think I get full blame here. While I can’t recall the exact instance when this happened.” He gently laid his hands on her stomach. “I do recall all instances involving two very enthusiastic participants. This is fifty-fifty.”

“Nope. Your little things got up in my thing and did things and then this happened.” She placed hands over his on her stomach. “And for the record, going by Dr. Kline’s math I believe this to be a Valentine’s baby.” 

Phillip thought that over, nodded approvingly. “Valentine’s was fun.” 

“If you’ll recall,” she stressed. “It was all your fault.”

“The chocolate sauce was my fault. Everything else you instigated.” 

“I was just happily enjoying the fondue, and a romantic evening at home with my husband. You were the one who ravished me.” She smiled at him sweetly. 

“You enjoyed that fondue entirely too much to be innocent,” he said slowly. “Because I remember a good twenty minutes of highly erotic moaning, a lot of very inappropriate licking, and a foot up my pant leg. I don’t think I can be held accountable for my actions after that.” 

Anne giggled. “Fine, it’s fifty-fifty.”

“You know, maybe we _should_ skip tonight? I know exactly where that fondue pot is hiding in the cupboard.” He lifted his eyebrows entreatingly. 

“Please.” Anne rolled her eyes, and walked out of the bedroom. Or waddled, as the case may be. Phillip followed close behind her, pretended like he wasn’t hovering as she descended the staircase. “Phillip, I can walk down the stairs.”

“I know.” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, it was just that with two false alarms in the past week and a half, he was slightly on edge. 

Anne picked up her purse, made sure she had what she needed for the night. Tried to be conversational when she asked, “You do know Tony will be there tonight, right?” 

It had been months since she had spoken to Tony, not since she had explained everything to him. She knew he still taught at the Weiss Academy, and that he spoke to W.D. occasionally. But that was all she knew. 

“Yes, I am well aware, and it’s fine.” Phillip paused. “But if it just so happens that I talk loudly about my beautiful wife, and our soon to arrive bundle of joy, when he’s within ear shot. Well, that’s just an accident.” 

Anne looked unimpressed. “Are you honestly still jealous?” 

“That’s not jealousy, babe.” Phillip shook his head. “That is smug male pride, and it is an intoxicating concoction.” 

“Don’t be an ass,” she said, pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.

“All right, I’ll just keep a possessive hand on your belly for most of the night.” He broke out laughing at her incredulous look. “I’m kidding. I will be on my very best behavior, for your sake… and Caroline’s. It is her recital after all.” 

“Good.” Anne turned to grab her coat, clutched her stomach when she felt a small contraction. Phillip placed a worried hand on the small of her back. “It’s just Braxton Hicks again.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, it’s just like the other times. They’ve been off and on since I started getting ready.”

“Anne,” he said sternly. “This is the third time you've had contractions in less than two weeks. You know what they say, third time’s the charm.” 

“Really. It’s fine.” She checked her watch. “They haven’t gotten any worse, or any quicker. I’m not in labor.” 

Phillip didn’t seem convinced, but he went along with her choice anyway. He helped her shrug into her coat, and grabbed his. 

“Do we need a code word in case you have to leave early?”

“Pretty sure the code word will be ‘hospital’, if I end up leaving early.” 

 

***

 

The recital had been lovely, consisting of performances with all of the Academy students, from beginner classes right through to the most senior dancers. Afterward, friends and family gathered in the reception hall for refreshments. A bit of a send off for the older students who would be graduating soon, and a reward for the younger ones. 

Anne was vaguely aware of Tony a few times, though he kept his distance, and Phillip seemed to barely pay him any attention at all. Taking in a deep breath, Anne laid a hand to her side. Charity was instantly beside her, eyes worried.

“That was a lot closer,” she said. 

“Have you been counting?” Anne wrinkled her nose.

“Anne, I know labor pains.”

“No, it’s Braxton Hicks. Dr. Kline said so.”

“You spoke to her before you came here?” 

Anne averted her gaze. “Well, no. But it was the last two times.” 

“Anne,” Charity chided. Every inch a Mom. Anne wondered when she would gain that ability.

“It’s fine. Right now I just have to pee, even though I went fifteen minutes ago.” 

Charity laughed at that. “Come on, I’ll go with you.” 

She didn’t really want to admit it, but Charity had been right: things were happening closer together, and had been since the start of the recital. Still, the pain wasn’t bad, just some discomfort. She couldn’t be in labor. Not yet. There was still over a week until her due date. 

A short while later, standing in front of the bathroom mirrors and washing her hands, Anne had to stop to breathe deeply. She gripped the edge of the counter, as a wave of pain like she’d never felt hit her. “Charity?” she called. “I don’t think these are Braxton Hicks.” 

“It’s all right, just remember to breathe.” Charity took one of her hands, let her squeeze it. She took in several deep breaths until the pain subsided. Charity let her catch her breath for a moment.

“Do you feel like you can walk?”

“I don’t think I have a choice, because I think I need to get to the hospital.” 

“Okay." Charity put a supportive arm around Anne. "Let’s go find Phillip.” 

They made their way slowly out of the bathroom, Anne concentrating on breathing until they made it out into the reception hall. She could see Phillip chatting with P.T. while Caroline and Helen nibbled at their plates of cookies. Once she and Charity were close enough, Anne called out to get Phillip’s attention.

“Baby!” she yelled.

“Yeah?” he turned toward her, confused.

“Not _you_ -baby. The baby-baby!” She pointed at her stomach just as another contraction hit her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, tried to take in even breaths. Anne managed to open one eye when Charity's hands were replaced by Phillip's, and she looked into his ecstatic and only vaguely terrified face. 

Anne was dimly aware of a stir among the other guests, murmurs of people wondering what was going on. She tried to ignore it, instead focused on Phillip as he did his best to soothe her. Once the contraction had past, things turned slightly madcap as Phillip, along with Charity and P.T., escorted her out of the reception hall and hopefully to the hospital. Her main focus through it all was to remain as calm as she could, and to keep breathing evenly. Though she was sure her nervousness was obvious by the way she held Phillip's hand in a bone crushing grip.

“You're doing great, it's going to be okay,” he whispered to her.

“Phillip?” 

“What do you need?”

She shook her, dismissing his question. “If you say 'I told you so’ I am going to kill you.”

His grin was crooked when he kissed her temple, and helped her into the waiting car.

 

***

 

It was just over twelve hours later when Madeline Naomi Carlyle made her grand debut. 

In the hours following Phillip's phone exploded; word having made it to the troupe, and everyone wanting to offer their congratulations. Even with the majority of the troupe keeping their distance, it still seemed like their hospital room had a revolving door as people stopped by to see the baby.

Anne's mother had managed to book an earlier flight; her original plan had been to arrive the following week, closer to the actual due date. Though by some miracle, everything had gone smoothly, and W.D. was able to pick up Naomi at the airport and get her to the hospital in time to see her first grandchild being born. Now though, she was gone, back at Anne and Phillip's house to get things ready for the baby. W.D and the rest of the visitors had left some time ago. Which meant the new family was alone for the first time, just the three of them.

“I can’t believe she’s all ours.” Anne’s voice was soft, Madeline -- Maddie, as they had decided -- was nestled in the crook of her elbow, swaddled in a soft fleece blanket her mother had brought. “We made her, Phillip.” 

“Well, you did all the work.” Tucked beside her on the small hospital bed, Phillip tightened his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “You are absolutely phenomenal, do you realize that?”

Anne smiled at him, tired but content. Phillip brushed his thumb against her cheek, kissed her softly before his turning his attention toward their daughter.

“You’re phenomenal too, Maddie.” He ran his finger gently over her plump cheek. She was still the slightest bit red, her skin a shade lighter than her mothers, with a tuft of dark hair that just barely peeked out from under the pink cap on her head. 

Anne started to shift. “Will you hold her? I’m so exhausted.”

“No, why would I want to do that? I’m not obsessed with her or anything.” 

Anne laughed, kissed Maddie’s cheeks before Phillip carefully took the baby from her. He settled Maddie in his curve of his arm while Anne curled against his side. 

“You should get some sleep,” he said, watching her eyes droop.

“I might miss something.” Anne’s voice was barely audible, and she nuzzled her face against his chest, getting herself as comfortable as possible.

“She’s sleeping, you can sleep too. You kinda had a long day.” 

“If you say so,” Anne mumbled. In just a few minutes he knew she was asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly with each deep breath. 

Sitting there, flanked by the love of his life, and their beautiful, perfect daughter, Phillip hadn’t known he could be so happy. He never could have imagined that level of unparalleled joy. Pressing a gentle kiss to Anne’s, and then Maddie’s head, Phillip relaxed against the hospital bed. He felt beyond thankful for his family, and completely at peace for the first time in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end~ Thank you so much everyone for reading and commenting and your general enthusiasm. I can never express how much it means to me. xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
> 
> I still have ideas for outtakes and things, so this won't be the end of this ridiculous modern AU. I love it too much. (For instance I need to actually introduce Anne and W.D's mom, Naomi, and their grandmother. Because I have them fleshed out in my head I just have to do something about it). As always you can find me on the tumblrz, making shitposts.


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